The USHWA Amateur Driver of the Year has found success in partnership with Team Tritton.

by Debbie Little

When Newton “Yogi” Sheridan was informed that he was chosen as the United States Harness Writers Association Amateur Driver of the Year, he got emotional and thanked God and his family — his wife, Nickeya, and four children, Naeem, Mekhi, Khalani, and Khalia — for being his support system.

Sheridan, 46, is a second-generation horseman and has been around harness racing from the time he could walk.

Sheridan’s love of the game came from his father, Melvin, and although the senior Sheridan died when Yogi was in the first grade, a lasting impression was made on Yogi and his three older brothers, Nathaniel, Mark and MJ.

Unlike many of the amateur drivers that Yogi races against, harness racing is his sole profession. He has a small stable of four that he trains, one of which he owns. He also owns a piece of both Yayas Hot Spot N and Muscle Factory A with partners Team Tritton Inc.

The Trittons — Shane and his wife, Lauren — moved to the U.S. from Australia in 2020 and last year were looking to get Yayas Hot Spot N into some amateur races.

“We’ve had him since he was 2 years old and he’s 14 now,” Shane said of Yayas Hot Spot N. “Yogi was a pretty accomplished driver… so, we kind of sussed him out and asked if he’d be willing to drive a few of our horses if we had anything that fit.

“And after a while, we realized he’s a good driver. One of the main things we love about him is that he cares a lot about the horses and he listens and he tries to help with improving them and lets you know what you can do to help them, which, you know, is a big thing for a driver, let alone an amateur driver.”

Yogi was beyond appreciative talking about how he feels about the Trittons.

“They are nothing less than amazing, both of them,” Yogi said of Shane and Lauren. “They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. For me, somebody that, you know, is just struggling in the game and just trying to get a little something to work with, they gave me the opportunity.

“I never had that opportunity to have decent horses to drive and just to have them feel confident and feel secure to where they don’t care what I do. And they let me learn on their horses and let me make mistakes and they’re never mad. I can’t thank them enough.”

It was earlier this year that Yogi and the Trittons officially became partners.

“I soon realized that a lot of the amateur drivers own their own horses because they don’t earn a living driving the horses,” Shane said.

On the United States Trotting Association website, “a driver who has not received valuable compensation for his or her services as a driver,” is how an amateur is defined.

“I approached Yogi and said, ‘Look, I’d love for you to come on board and take a share in some of these horses because I want you to celebrate when we win; I know you love winning when you drive them,’” Shane said. “But these amateur drivers don’t earn anything from a driver’s point of view, and we wanted him to be on board so that when we did win, he won as well, financially… That was the main reason we wanted him to be part of the good times because he was doing a good job for us and we kind of felt like it was only fair that he got something out of it as much as we did. And, you know, it’s been a great ride.”

Yogi said that Muscle Factory A is a challenging horse for him to drive but he continues to do so because it’s a learning experience. Shane also had a view on the pairing of Yogi with their horse.

“Put it this way, if it wasn’t for Yogi, Muscle Factory probably would have been retired because no one could handle him,” Shane said. “Dexter [Dunn] drove him, a lot of them drove him, and said he was too much. So, Yogi probably doesn’t understand that; he thinks he’s just driving him, but he’s done better than what most drivers would have.”

In addition to the Trittons, Yogi said that Izzy Estrada, Terry and Holly Morgan and Pete Pellegrino have all supported him with drives.

Yogi said if he were a younger man, without a wife and small children at home, trading in the amateur ranks for a pro career would make sense since he would have the time to travel to smaller tracks where more drives would be available.

“I wish I had enough power to where I can say, ‘I want to drive in the professional races,’” Yogi said. “But we all know when you go to the professional races, it’s another step, a bigger step.

“And you’ve got to prove yourself and you’ve got to come in the professionals with a barn, with a big barn, with a nice barn, and you’ve got to have power.

“Right now, I’ve got a little bit of power and I just like driving. There’s no other thing. I just like driving.”

Shane said he hopes that more trainers will consider giving Yogi more opportunities in some professional races.

“We don’t even see him as an amateur driver. I have great respect for him as a driver,” Shane said. “I have no trouble using him on any horses I have. It doesn’t matter if it’s an amateur race or not.

“I just wish there was a way that he could make a living out of it, so I didn’t feel so bad when he drives winners for me that he doesn’t get as much as he should.

“The God’s honest truth is that there’s horses I have that when I put them in the box, I would rather have Yogi driving them over some of the more accomplished drivers because there’s some of these horses that need someone to work with them and push through the awkwardness of it. Yogi does that and he’s willing to work with it, where a lot of other professional drivers, unfortunately, they’re at that place where they don’t like to do that; they would rather drive something else that they prefer.

“So, Yogi is probably underutilized for that point that he will work to the horse rather than just drive. It’s probably one of the main reasons he’s very successful in the amateurs and it’s something that I’m sure a lot more trainers could utilize if they give him a chance.

“He does good for us, and if more people will give him a chance, I’m sure they’d be just as happy as we are.”